Buffalo Man

Strong story, especially around the brutalizing of defenseless little Abby (Smith). Matt and Chester ride out of Dodge to investigate a horrific murder. On Indian land, they encounter two buffalo hunters and a girl. Siple (Anderson) is one mean buffalo man who abuses the cowering Abby and ties up Matt and Chester. His pardner Ticks (Klugman) is scared of him too. However, the Indians don't take to buffalo hunters no matter how mean.

The gravel-voiced Anderson is totally convincing as the menacing Siple, and when he drags Abby into the woods to beat her, it's truly chilling. It's also one of Klugman's early roles. The entry's rather surprising for its realistic depiction of Abby's desperate state, leaving few gaps for the viewer to fill in. Also, check out both the episode's "Trivia" entry and John Anderson's bio. Apparently, the culminating fist fight has become a text book for budding film editors.

Very violent,but good, allbelit really hard to watch so much brutalityGood acting and story.

There's so much to like with a Gunsmoke episode. With this one, it was how well they told a very gritty story.

Brutal? Yes, but poignant too. In some ways, the brutal, gritty episodes are the most honest: there must have been many instances of this in the real Old West.

But poignant too: I don't think I've ever seen Patricia Smith so young. But she was wonderful (as always. I'm a big fan of hers) and brought love and self respect shining through.

This is one of my most favorite episodes in these first 3 seasons.

Doc Adams rides into Dodge City with a body covered by a blanket. He tells Matt Dillon that he found the dying man out on the prairie. The man had been badly cut in a manner to cause intense suffering.

Matt and Chester Goode leave Dodge to investigate. The pair come upon a wagon camped in Pawnee territory. They find a frightened woman named Abby hiding in the wagon. She warns them to leave her alone and tells them "He" will beat her if she is seen talking with them. Earl Ticks walks into the camp, and while Matt and Chester are talking with him, Ben Siple sneaks in behind them and captures them.

Ticks ties Matt and Chester to the wagon. They try to convince Abby to cut them loose, but she is too afraid of Siple's wrath. When Siple sees them talking, he kicks Matt in the head.

Later, when the people in the encampment hear Pawnee signals in the night, Siple and Ticks flee and leave Matt, Chester, and Abby behind to face whatever fate might await them.

The talented character actor John Anderson makes the first of twelve Gunsmoke appearances in this story. He plays the Ben Siple character with his usual level of excellence. Siple is another of those totally depraved unredeemable characters that often appeared in John Meston's stories. He is convinced he can do whatever he wants, and no one will stop him. He has surrounded himself with people who share that same belief. The character might be viewed as the anti-Matt Dillon.

Gifted actor Jack Klugman portrays Earl Ticks in his only Gunsmoke guest role. If Ben Siple is the anti-Matt Dillon, Earl Ticks is Chester's counterpart. He does not seem to share Siple's misanthropy, but he is complicit in Siple's depravity at least by his tolerance of it. The Ticks character lacks the ability to imagine any sort of life other than what partnering with Siple offers.

Actress Patricia Smith makes the first of two appearances in this story where she portrays Abby, a woman who has only known abuse from the men in her life. Smith returned in Season 6 as a woman who sets her sights on Chester.

Strong performances by everyone in the cast, taught direction and editing (especially in the famous fight scene), and a first-rate John Meston tale make this episode a must-see even for casual fans. Beware, however, the theme of abuse victims who cannot imagine an existence where they do not face abuse and the portrayal of the abuse -- both graphic and implied -- could make this episode difficult for some to stomach.

Meston also does a fantastic job of incorporating the disdain many American Indian groups had for white men hunting buffalo into extinction as part of the story.

This installment does include a curious element that occasionally appears in these early Gunsmoke episodes. Actions that appear to be absolutely criminal are allowed to occur with no legal repercussions. One would think holding people captive, attacking a U. S. Marshal, and mercilessly abusing a woman repeatedly would all be grounds for prosecution.

When Matt and Chester go out to check on a murder they run across a wagon and find a bruised young woman. Before long two hunters, the lead hunter named Ben Siple, has Matt and Chester at gunpoint. When Matt tells them they are on Indian land, Siple takes the butt of his rifle and lays out Matt. He ties Matt and Chester up to the wagon wheel and then takes his hand and slaps the young woman, Abby, across the face for even talking. So we are talking about a very abusive person in Ben Siple.

Later on after kicking Matt in the face, Siple makes mention of Abby again talking with the Marshal so he takes her out into the woods and lays another beating on the poor gal. But when they hear Indian calls not far from camp, the two buffalo hunters saddle-up to flee, leaving Matt, Chester and Abby to face the Indians alone.

The brutal abuse in this episode is rather shocking and makes some scenes almost horrifying. John Anderson, cast as Siple, brings the horror to the screen in a very real way which speaks volumes for his acting ability. By the time the episode ends, the viewer may feel better for watching but not completely satisfied. Good watch.